


Super Secret Agenda

by adiosnoninos



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Conspiracy Theories, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, author is linguistically constipated, surprise at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-11 19:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21226994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adiosnoninos/pseuds/adiosnoninos
Summary: Taeil keeps ordering the same thing and it's driving Sicheng wild.#S069





	Super Secret Agenda

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively: Sicheng should learn to mind his own business.
> 
> The doc title was a joke but it ended up sticking as the fic title. I hope I gave justice to the prompt though.

Welcome to Lucky Three, a 24/7 Korean-Chinese restaurant in the middle of Seoul. The corner restaurant opened a little over a decade ago, its current management under the hands of Qian Song's only son. If one was feeling up for some authentic, Korean-Chinese goodness, just hop over the little store located between a GS25 and a bubble tea shop. Because of its proximity to a university, it became a popular late-night haunt for the students.

It is no surprise that Lucky Three would get all sorts of customers, from wannabe Youtube mukbang stars to the regular drunkards to students who got kicked out from the study cafes. While most of them came as a one-time thing, a few stayed on to become a regular. Sicheng shouldn’t be surprised by the kind of customers they get especially during rush hours. He has served this guy who ate anything with lao gan ma to Kun’s horror), has sent strange food combinations to the kitchen, and once witnessed a brawl between Doyoung and a customer. 

Doyoung. His ex. That was a wild ride.

There is this one customer who wouldn’t let him get a wink of sleep during some nights. 

For starters, he kept ordering the same thing at the same time and day. Whenever he was in their shop at exactly 10:27 PM on Thursdays, the kitchen would immediately prepare his order. It’s a requirement for their new hires to learn what is Taeil’s order especially if he’s going to drop by during their shift. It’s one big bowl of jjangmyeon and one tangsuyuk. The spice level depends on Taeil’s mood so it’s a rare occurrence he will tell them to make it extremely spicy. God bless Taeyong’s shocked face whenever Sicheng brings the order to the kitchen.

Conspiracy theories came rolling five months after Taeil started coming in. All they knew about him boils down into three things—One, he used to train as an idol but gave it up for uni three years in and two, he’s taken. That silver ring isn’t telling lies. He could be engaged, he could be married, he could be single and just liked wearing jewelry on the wrong places. Hey, a man could dream. Three, he keeps ordering the same thing for no reason at all. Doyoung, the other cook, suggested that Taeil liked to keep a schedule. Renjun had argued that no man will repeatedly order the same thing for one year. 

Not even Yangyang kept up and Yangyang was one of their many loyal customers.

It started one rainy evening when the man himself stumbled into their shop. He didn’t start coming at 10:27PM so they had no reason to suspect. The poor guy struggled to look at their menu for twenty minutes before ordering a seafood jjangmyeon and tangsuyuk for to-go. They didn’t even think he would come back and keep ordering the same thing every time. After two months, he told them to stop calling him jjangmyeon-and-tangsuyuk guy and just call him Taeil. 

After that, he started coming every Thursday at exactly 10:27 PM for a year now. Taeyong admitted he once dreamed of making the same order the day before he told them to call him Taeil.

Today is one of the days the said favorite customer would drop by. Normally, Taeil is all upbeat and happy even though he was a little tired. Today, however, he glared at his phone. Sicheng shot a look at Doyoung and they both shuddered. The spice cabinet is going to be opened again.

“Welcome to Lucky Three, hyung! How spicy would your order be today?” Even though they all knew his order by heart, it was still nice to try chatting him up. 

Taeil grunted, still not looking up from his phone. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he tried calling the older’s attention. 

“Hyung? How spicy?”

Taeil finally looks up from his phone with the bitchiest expression he has seen in his life. He wanted to say it in a more PG way but dear Lord, this hyung is beyond terrifying today.

“Hit me with your best shot.” He said in an eerily calm voice. Sicheng gulped. Taeyong is going to open the spice cabinet again and the kitchen would be too spicy to enter without protection. 

For thirty excruciating minutes, they watched as Taeil kept huffing while typing on his phone. Someone at work could be annoying him and he probably ordered it so something else would be hotter than his head. They don’t even know why would he willingly make his jjangmyeon extremely spicy when he’s mad. 

“Here you go, hyung!” Sicheng shakily hands over the plastic bag. Taeil barely spared him a glance, throwing 10000 won bills before walking out, not even bothering with the change. Regulars whispered among themselves as soon as the door closed. 

“Taeil-hyung’s a chill guy. He keeps to himself often and would glance at his phone. I think it’s his boyfriend or husband. No way in that man is straight!” he overheard Renjun talk to Yangyang by the bar.

“He can drive since I saw his car outside. I wonder why he’s pissed though. I hope hyung won't go over the limit tonight.”

Sicheng listened in to the latest gossip Renjun and Yangyang provided. As a customer, Yangyang probably had seen Taeil around and might finally give them the key to unlocking his identity. He hoped that the other regulars would provide them info too.

“Hey, Winwin what’s-” Sicheng dragged Doyoung back and put a finger over his lips, “SHHH! Wee need to keep quiet! We’re this close to revealing Taeil-hyung’s identity!”

“Taeil-hyung’s what?” 

Both Sicheng and Doyoung both jumped at the sound of the voice. They turned around, seeing their manager, Kun, standing by the kitchen door. Doyoung quickly scrambled back to his station while Sicheng smiled innocently, “Manager-ssi! What brings you here?” They asked, as if nothing happened. Sicheng thought about this week’s paycheck and having to explain to Yuta why he’s going to buy groceries again this week. A small price to pay for something life-changing.

“If I recall, you two are supposed to be working right now.”

Sweat dripped from his back. Uh-oh he’s going to get fired or worse. “I’m taking a little break right now because, uh, Taeil-hyung was intense today!”

Kun raised an eyebrow "Alright if you say so. Stop snooping at the customers and back to work!" He rushed back to the cashier, just in time to catch another customer.

He was, unfortunately, correct, when Kun stared at him before skipping him and Doyoung for this week’s paycheck. Capitalism is so cruel.

-

There were a lot of running theories about Taeil-hyung. His favorite one was Taeil became an idol and this restaurant was one of his rare chances to live a normal life. It’s also a great way to throw Dispatch off his trail. Why would the notorious news outlet want to follow an idol that kept getting the same thing over and over again? The other one was the food being an offering to a shrine god and Taeil must be so grateful to offer it again and again. What kind of shrine is open near midnight though?

On the day both Sicheng and Yuta were off, he launched into a spiel about their weird customer while watching a rerun of a variety show “How about we test each theory for a week? I swear I could recite his order in my sleep!” Yuta hummed in response, absentmindedly threading his fingers through Sicheng’s hair “We could like, bait him with something- hey, are you even listening?!”

“I’m sorry babe, what was that?”

“Are you kidding me? What do you even remember in my rant.” 

“Taeil-hyung is weird?” Yuta sheepishly replied. He shrieked when Sicheng started hitting him with a pillow. “Ow ow— HEY! That’s all I got!” 

Sicheng huffed, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. Since the outburst, the staff at Lucky Three grew more curious. They even had a betting pool about it. Currently, Doyoung placed the highest bet at 70000 won. Whoever wins the bet is going to be pretty rich. He is already daydreaming about three weeks' worth of groceries in their fridge.

“This is so stupid? Babe what do you think?” Sicheng turned to his boyfriend who was already fast asleep. Men ain’t it, to be honest.

-

“Let’s see if Taeil-hyung is really an idol!”

“Are you kidding me? Renjun is kpop stan here and he never saw him in any music shows!” 

“Anything is possible!” Sicheng declared, standing up on the table “I had enough of Taeil-hyung being more mysterious than Kun-hyung’s secret beau!” Today was a Thursday, meaning Taeil would come around today. It would be a perfect time to put his plan into action. Kun wouldn’t be around today to stop his fairly ambitious plan either.

At exactly 10:27PM sharp, Taeil walked into the restaurant. Sicheng had kicked Renjun out of the register and the said grumpy teenager was cleaning up the tables. “Hey hyung! You look a little tired today.”

The older gave him an exhausted smile “Thank you Sicheng. Can you add tteokbokki to my usual order today?”

He perked up at the mention of an additional item. That’s… new. “Sure thing hyung! Anything to add on it?”

“I don’t know what add ons do you have. What do you recommend?”

“Well, we have the usual extra fishcakes and egg. If Kun-hyung was here today he’d probably whip up something special for you.”

“Oh…” Taeil stared at the menu. A light blush crept across Taeil’s checks and Sicheng decided that would be a very, very, interesting development. Kun and Taeil have met before when the older first stumbled in the restaurant. Probably remembering how he embarrassed himself.

Sicheng snickered to himself. He still bothered Kun about it “Maybe some extra fish cakes? I don’t know what I can add, to be honest.”

“Don’t worry, leave it to us! Anything for our favorite customer!”

Sicheng: 1

Kun’s repeated warnings not to stick his nose in someone’s business: 0

\- 

Sicheng has a plan. The said plan involved interacting with the man himself. His social battery is about to take a hit but anything to get any information out of the older. It worked once Taeil started greeting him every time he came around. “Good evening Sicheng! How’s the cat you and Yuta decided to take in last week?”

“She’s doing amazing! Do you want to see photos of her?’

“I’d love to gush over her photos if it weren’t for my schedule.”

Hook.

“Schedule? We all thought you’re always going home at this hour.”

Line.

“Quite the opposite. I work night shifts so I happened to stumble upon this place.”

Sinker.

Sicheng grinned as he handed over the bag to Taeil “Why don’t you and your co-workers come here some other time? I wouldn’t be the one tending the cashier though.”

Taeil winked at him.

-

Today's shift was one of the slowest ever. Renjun was not present, citing university exams. Lucky bastard. One of their new hires, Xiaojun, replaced him today.

Sicheng was close to nodding off. Globalization his ass, it's just a mere extension of capitalism. In bis day job, his boss insisted that it would be a great idea to expand their operations abroad. He ran between departments all day and the last thing he needed was a busy Thursday shift. All capitalists care more about profits and making profits and none of that genuine employee development. Maybe if he set his company on fire he could-

"Good evening Sichengie!"

His eyes shot wide open and he nearly fell to the floor in his haste to stand up "WELCOME TO LUCKY THREE HOW MAY I SERVE YOU?" He rattled out the greeting. Taeil had an amused smile on his face "Long day at work?"

The younger stifled a yawn “You could say that. The usual?”

“Please.”

While the kitchen was busy with Taeil’s order, he chatted up the elder “So our mysterious jjangmyeon guy, what’s so good about our food that made you keep coming back for it?”

“University days. I used to study nearby when this place wasn’t open yet. A few years too late for that I suppose.”

“Where did you go to then? A lot of uni students come here.”

“I’m from-” “YOUR ORDER IS HERE!”

Sicheng snatched the paper bag from Doyoung. He glared at his co-worker for a fraction of a second before turning around to Taeil with a sweet smile “Here you go hyung! Sorry for the interruption.”

Taeil reassured him it's alright. He waved goodbye to them while leaving. As soon as Taeil is out of the door, SIcheng resumed glaring at his co-worker. “Sorry! I didn’t know you were asking him an important question!” Doyoung rubbed his hands in apology. 

“You better be or else I’m asking Kun to give you the graveyard shift.”

-

Sicheng had enough.

He paced around their living room, trying to come up with a decent plan. Asking him to bring whoever he brings that jjangmyeon was too forward. Following him until they can see who he gives it too would land them in prison. He was running low on options at this point and was starting to think Taeil was their collective hallucination.

Yuta noticed his distress “Babe is everything alright at work?” He asked, concerned. Sicheng groaned, flopping next to his boyfriend. This mysterious vibe was going for too long. “Babe how do I get someone to invite their potential significant other to the restaurant. I’m dying to meet them!”

“A party?” Yuta suggested

“Christmas party is a few weeks away though?”

“I don’t know,” Yuta shrugged, “I’m chained to a desk and we barely have time to go out on a date either.”

A lightbulb went off his head. A date. They need to set him up on a date and make him bring his partner. Taeil never ate in their restaurant. He was always rushing to bring his order home. Whoever he goes home to must be very lucky. Imagine a really hot and caring guy bringing home food every Thursday? No offense to Yuta but wow, what a dream

Which also meant he needs to use the printer in Kun’s office. Kun is always in his office when not taking over some counter duties. That means he would need the cooperation of his co-workers during his shift.

Sicheng kissed Yuta’s cheek “THANK YOU YOU’RE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!”

Yuta looked confused, watching Sicheng run to their shared bedroom. Their cat meowed, sharing the same sentiments as Yuta “Your other dad is confusing I know.”

-

Puppy eyes might work if he were Lucas. Renjun barely spared a glance at the elder “Hyung I love you but I think this is the craziest plan you ever thought of.”

“Please Renjunnie! I need your help!” Sicheng pleaded. The younger sighed, putting the papers away. “Fine, you and Doyoung-hyung better be paying for my food for a week.”

Sicheng cheered, skipping back to the counter “Remember the agreement!” He called after.

  
  


If Sicheng’s (more like, Yuta’s) plan goes well, the whole restaurant can sleep peacefully while Taeil remained oblivious to the chaos he caused. Renjun was assigned on as look-out while Doyoung distracted Kun with his horrible flirting. Their manager wasn’t having any of it, buying Sicheng a few more minutes. 

“Hyung! Doyoung-hyung can only do so much! Kun-hyung is nearly done beating him to a pulp!”

“Done!” He snatched the printed flyer from the printing tray. Sicheng quickly erased any evidence of him using his manager’s computer for purposes it was not intended for. The two quickly slipped out of the office and made a run for it.

Sicheng and Renjun peeked from the door, sighing in relief when they saw Kun scratch his head in confusion before entering. “We’re not doing this again.”

He agreed. Some things are slightly not worth losing job security for.

-

“Taeil-hyung! I have something for you!”

“Good evening to you too Sicheng! What is it?” With shaking hands, Sicheng hands him a fake promotional flyer. It was the best he and Doyoung could come up with.

“A once-in-a-lifetime offer for you! You could get two meals for the price of one!” He recited like he did several times in the mirror. Taeil scanned the menu, a smile growing on his face “This is good! What’s the catch though?”

“It’s for dine-in only.”

“Ah…”

Taeil was looking at the flyer for a long time. Sicheng was ready to say “April fools!” despite Halloween being around the corner. “Alright. I’ll bring a friend.” Taeil finally responded.

He swore he could kiss ground Taeil walked on right now. Hell, he’d even lick his shoes clean. God is merciful to the gays! “Thank you so much hyung! See you next week!”

“See you!” Taeil left the restaurant. Success!

-

Throughout the week, that was the only thing he could focus on. What if it turns out Taeil-hyung is married? Not going to lie, he’s going to be a little bit heartbroken.

Scratch that, the whole restaurant is going to be heartbroken.

Today was the D-Day. The day they would find out who Taeil bought their food for. He is so sure that Buzzfeed Unsolved would be amazed at his ingenuity and beg him to join their crew to solve cases for them.

The whole restaurant held their breath as the clock struck 10:27 PM. Even their regular customers were waiting too.

The door opened, revealing Taeil with-

"MANAGER-GE?!" 

"KUN-GE?!" 

"WHAT THE FUCK QIAN?!"

Chaos broke out in the restaurant. Their normally composed, dressed to the nines manager was bewildered. Kun was wearing a pair of pajamas with a hoodie that was a last-minute addition. Shock didn't even register on Sicheng until he looked down and saw the stupid flyer he printed last week. The rest of the crew were in varying stages of surprised. From Renjun's unimpressed face to Taeyong who looked like he was about to lose it "Kun you fatass! I've been cooking for your boyfriend for a year now and didn't know he would end up giving it to you!" The cook wailed.

Sicheng refused to believe he risked his job security to print out a flyer, only for Fate to bite him in the ass. He's getting sacked this week. "You… Taeil-hyung… you… Taeil-hyung…" He repeated like a broken record.

Kun looked at everyone in confusion "I'm not his boyfriend though?"

"The flyer said to bring a date though?"

Another man bursts in the door "I'M SORRY I'M LATE!" Everyone turned to the newcomer who clung to Taeil's side immediately. The older smiled fondly at the man before turning to introduce him "Sorry for the confusion. My companion 100% single and ready to date though. Everyone, meet Jaehyun."

"Hi! I'm Taeil-hyung's cousin." The new visitor introduced himself, smiling sheepishly. 

Taeyong fainted. Doyoung drooled over the new customer and was probably making up a fantasy wedding or bedroom scenes in his mind. Renjun was probably making a thread for their other co-workers on Twitter.

He can't believe all of their conspiracy theories went to waste. "Are you sure you're not secretly part of Interpol or something?"

Taeil waved him off "That sounded cooler than my actual job. I'm a sound engineer for a company. Kun babe, now why did you insist on joining me?"

"Because," Kun pointed an accusatory finger at Sicheng. He's about to kiss his only stable job since college goodbye "someone printed this atrocious flyer for a fake advertisement when another loser could have just said we're married!"

This time, Sicheng fainted as well.

  
  



End file.
